He had saved her. And maybe if she stayed by his side, she could somehow save him from the hatred burning inside him. The darkness that had taken control.
He wasn’t a monster. Just a boy who’d been hurt by nearly everyone. A boy who hadn’t learned right from wrong, just what it meant to be powerful or powerless.
“Let’s run,” he said. “Let’s leave together. We don’t need anyone else.”
“Let’s go,” she agreed, putting her hand in his.
From now on, all they had was each other. So they would just have to do the best they could.
And maybe someday she’d see the boy she had once loved again.
Chapter 8
Aegis came to with the worst headache he’d ever had in his life. A headache that lessened slightly when he saw Opal was there, keeping watch over him.
Her dark hair was back in a neat braid and her elven face seemed tired. Stressed. Had he done that to her?
“How long was I out?” he asked, sitting up in the bed and then quickly lying back down as pain jackhammered through his head. “Shit.”
“Since yesterday,” she said. “It’s morning. Can I get you breakfast?”
He shook his head. “No eating. Not for now anyway.” He ran his hand through his hair, which felt damp with sweat.
“I had a dream about us while you were out,” she said, handing him a damp, cool washcloth, which he placed on his forehead. It felt amazing.
It felt even more amazing to have Opal at his bedside, caring for him as she had so many times before. After a fight or when he’d been sick.
“How so?” he asked.
“Do you remember the day we escaped together?”
He frowned. Of course he did. It was the day someone had tried to take Opal from him. The day he’d awakened his powers and learned to be ruthless.
“Yes.”
“Did I thank you for that?” she asked. “I know the whole situation was shocking, but I should have been more grateful.”
“There’s no need. I’d have done it regardless.”
“Oh, right,” she said. “Yeah, you saw it coming, and I didn’t.”
“No,” he said. “You always wanted to see the best in people. Something I’ve mostly liked about you.”
“Really?” she asked. “Because usually it resulted in someone being beaten.”
“Because I didn’t like what they thought about you,” he said.
“You know, I was thinking about that, too, while you were out. About how you fought for me when I couldn’t fight for myself.”
“Wouldn’t fight for yourself,” he said. “Sorry.”
“It’s true,” she said. “I hate violence.”
“Is that why you left me?” he asked. “Because I was too violent?”
She sighed, sitting back in the chair, pulling her soft, gray cardigan around her. She was wearing black sweats as well. Comfy and soft, and he just wanted to hug her. He still needed to reassure her he was attracted to her, but that would have to wait.
“When we first left together, I knew it was going to be hard. That we were different. But I cared about you. Still do. And I felt I was always the excuse for your violence.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t an excuse. I just wanted to protect you.”
She sighed and blew a small bubble, letting it pop in front of her, a small scene playing in the air in front of them. “What about this moment?”
They were in a new town, wearing ragged clothing, and a man had stopped to offer them bread. They took it, and the man, who looked plump and friendly, offered them a place to stay. Aegis then made the man punch himself, knocking himself out, and stepped over his unconscious form to pick his pockets.
Opal waved her hand to dispel the scene and looked at Aegis with disapproval.
“He was hoping to assault you,” Aegis said, folding his arms. “And we needed new clothes.”
She sighed. “We didn’t need to rob him. We could have worked.”
“Right, dragons on the run can just stop and find employment. That’s not how the world works.”
“Okay, how about this one?” She blew a bubble and showed him another scene. This time it was a group of teenage boys, showing them an apple tree and climbing it, inviting them to join. At first, they had, and then Aegis had gotten angry with one of the boys and made him get in a fight with the tree, laughing as he punched the bark.
Opal put her hand over her face. “It’s even worse than I remember.”
Aegis frowned. “I saw how they were looking at you. No one gives something for nothing, Opal. In that case, even apples had a price.”
“Aegis, not everyone is after me.”
He folded his arms stubbornly. “How would you know that? You were too busy assuming the best of everyone to read minds.”
“Still, they were humans. You could have just gotten me to leave with you, and we wouldn’t have had trouble.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not good at being good. We’ve established that with the poison cookies I think.” He scowled.
She laughed. “Yeah. Cool it with the fluffy crap. I don’t really want Citrine.”
He looked hopeful at that, green eyes widening. “Really?”
“Obviously,” she said. “Otherwise, I would have just been with him, rather than trying to use his good manners as leverage to get you to behave.” She slumped a bit.
“What is it?” he asked, perking up.
“Honestly, Aegis, I just don’t know what to do. All I’ve ever wanted was to help you.”
“You can’t,” he said flatly. “I am who I am. You can accept that or not, but I’m not changing.”
“And I’m not going to be with someone who hates everyone but me.”
“I don’t hate everyone,” he said. “Just most.”
She sighed. “Aegis…”
“Fine, what do you want from me? Some kind of promise that I’ll try to make some friends?”
“That would be nice,” she said. “If you could just try to trust people. To let them get to know you.”
“As if they would after everything I’ve done. Right now, I’m weak and collared, so they’re fine with me. But they’ll change their minds soon enough. People always do.”
“I know you had a rough start, but that’s no reason to completely give up.”
“I never gave up,” he said. “Even when you were gone, when the only reason to be good left me, I never gave up. I still have my rules, and they may not be anyone else’s, but I hold to them.” His chin jutted out. “And you may not want to hear this, but everyone I fought had something awful to think about you, and I dealt with it as I knew how.”
“And I just want you to know there are other ways.”
He scowled. “And what about with Zach? What did you want me to do then, since that’s when you ran from me?”
“I… I don’t know,” she said. She blew another bubble, and the scene rose between them.
Opal swallowed as she watched the scene that had been so pivotal for both of them. It played out in the air in front of them, acted out by perfect miniature representations of themselves at the time.
Even Zach’s castle, austere and isolated, was just as she remembered it.
Aegis straightened slightly, and she could tell this was uncomfortable for him as well.
The tiny figure of Aegis strode out of the main hall to check on something to do with dinner, leaving tiny Opal and Zach in the great hall.
“So are you his mate? If not, what are you doing with him?” tiny Zach asked, standing lazily against the doorway.
“I’m not his mate,” tiny Opal replied. “Merely his friend.”
“And he takes you from place to place like this. Like vagabonds.”
She nodded. “We’ve always been together.”
Zach took a step forward. “You could stay here with me. I don’t often seek company, but a female dragon is worth making an exception for.”
Real Aegis sat up on the bed, looking
like he was ready to kill tiny Zach, even when he was simply a figment of the vision she’d produced. But then he sat back, biting his lip.
“Ugh, just look at him,” Aegis said. “I leave for two seconds and he makes a move.”
“He was simply giving me options,” Opal said.
“Hmph.” Aegis folded his arms.
They watched as tiny Aegis came storming into the room, fire in his eyes, in typical attack mode. He grabbed Zach and knocked him through the window, and the two tiny figures changed into dragons and began to fight on the lawn.
“I’ve seen all of this before,” Aegis said from beside her, looking bored.
But the scene changed, zooming out, to show tiny Opal, crying silent tears as she watched the fierce battle. Looking tired.
And then she walked up to her room and began to pack her things.
The scene quietly faded into white smoke and then dissipated, leaving them in silence.
Aegis stared at the place where the scene had been, looking slightly pale. “Ah, yes,” he said, scratching his head nervously. “That’s the part I didn’t see.”
“That’s right,” she said. “You were so busy fighting everyone that you didn’t even see me or what I wanted.”
“Maybe that’s why I felt threatened,” he said. “Because Zach was a dragon, and you hesitated with him. For the first time, I thought I could lose you.”
“In that case, you should have talked to me about it. Not gone to beat him up.”
“I can’t change it,” Aegis said. “But Zach was also in the wrong for trying to take another dragon’s mate.”
“I wasn’t your mate.”
“He didn’t know that.”
“That’s why he asked.”
“He was a rogue. A player. Everyone knew that. I didn’t want you to fall for it. I wanted to take him out.”
“And you were just angry, and you wanted to hurt someone to prove you had power and weren’t helpless. Like you always do.”
His expression darkened. “Maybe sometimes. But that was the minority. I swear to you, Opal. I thought I was protecting you.”
He put his hands up, covering his eyes. “And if you think I haven’t had years to beat myself up for the way I acted, you’re mistaken. I know I’m insane about you. I know I’m not right in the head. But I also know I love you. I’ve always loved you. I love you so much I’d do anything, and if you don’t love me, I don’t know if I want to be in this world.”
She stared at him, overwhelmed and speechless, knowing she returned that love but uncertain of the consequences for saying that.
It was love that had made her go with him. Love that had made her stay with him. Love that had made her leave him and love that had ultimately made her feel lost when she didn’t know what to do about him.
“I think that’s part of why I don’t come on to you,” he said. “So many years of hearing the gross things men thought about you, what they wanted to do to you. Every time I beat them, I knew I was better. That I would never do that to you. Never hurt you. I didn’t realize I was hurting you with my fighting.” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I mean, I realized it wasn’t the greatest, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I guess I was wrong.”
“Aegis admitting a mistake?” she asked, feigning extreme shock. “I can’t believe it.
“Hey,” he mumbled. “I nearly killed myself making a mistake with my cooking. Nothing to lose admitting I can be wrong now. It’s already obvious.”
“I like that,” she said, moving a little closer with her chair.
“Like what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Humility,” she answered. “That’s very new.”
He laughed. “Yes. It may just be the effects of the poison. Maybe I’ll be back to my asshole-ish self by lunch.”
“You know, instead of focusing on everyone else and protecting me, I kind of wish you had focused on me instead,” she said, scooting a little closer. “I mean, you couldn’t even stand for anyone to look at me. But we never even kissed.”
“In my head, even though I hoped you’d be my mate one day, I was only your friend. I was nobler than the other males. I guess I thought that would mean I could deserve to be around you.”
“You never had to deserve me,” she said. “Wasn’t that the whole point between us? I know I have my own weaknesses, but I like to think I always made you feel loved.”
“As a friend,” he said. “I never thought you saw me the way I saw you. I didn’t want to ruin things by being the first to say something.”
She sat back in the chair, fingering her braid. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” he said. “We’re like a vase someone dropped on the floor. But at least now we can admit we’re broken and find a way to put us back together.”
She put a hand out for his. “Yeah.”
There was an awkwardly silent moment.
“So Sapphire healed me, then?” he asked.
She nodded.
“He isn’t the worst,” he said begrudgingly, pushing blond hair out of his eyes.
“You like him,” she teased.
“Do not.”
“Do too,” she said, coming over to sit on the bed next to him. Touching him. “You think he’s your best friend, and—”
Aegis reached up with one hand and cupped her neck, pulling her down for a kiss.
As their lips met, all thought left her mind. She was in another world, one where everything was fine. Where all that mattered was their breath mingling and the soft warmth of two people coming together.
His lips were warm and soft, a gentle pressure that was just enough to assure he was there. Heat rushed through her. She wound her hand around his neck, returning the kiss, unsure exactly where to go from here.
But she didn’t want the kiss to end.
If only Aegis had tried to win her by kissing her back then, rather than punching everything that moved.
His lips gently parted hers and his tongue slipped inside, stroking softly, melting her core. She held her breath as tingles rushed through her, as he explored deeper and warmth pooled inside her, making her squirm.
When he finally pulled back, green eyes dusky and intent, she kept her hand on the smooth, warm skin of his neck, loving the feel of his muscles flexing beneath her fingers.
“That was… That was…”
He released his hold on her and sat back. “Too much for a man who was just poisoned.”
She giggled. “So first kiss, then.”
“Was it okay?”
She wanted to scream. Okay? Of course it was more than okay. Hadn’t he felt it as well? He seemed as cool as a cucumber, and she felt as if she were on fire just from touching him.
Typical, frustrating Aegis.
But she knew now for sure. She wanted more.
“I want to give this a try between us,” she said, twisting a finger in the sheets beneath them.
His vibrant green eyes widened. “Give what a try?”
“Us,” she said. “Mating. Dating first.”
“So what does that mean?” he asked. “No more trying to be a marshmallow?”
“Well, I hope you’ll still keep doing the good things you’ve started, but you don’t have to change who you are.”
“Fine,” he said. “So the real wooing begins.”
“I suppose,” she said, feeling nervous. What was she agreeing to?
But that kiss. Could it really feel like that if they weren’t meant to be together? She touched her lips, and he watched her as if curious why she was doing that.
She stood abruptly. “I’m going to let you rest. You can call for me if you need me.”
He almost looked like he was going to stop her from going, but then he waved. “All right. Take a break from watching the sick person. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She grinned, knowing she would probably check on him before that, but he would probably be asleep.
“See you tomorrow, A
egis.”
Chapter 9
As soon as Opal left the room, Aegis began scheming.
Kissing. That was interesting. It inflamed his body but in a way he’d never known. He wanted more, but he wanted to do it right.
He wasn’t sure exactly what had prompted Opal’s change of mind. Maybe him being sick. Maybe the dream of him rescuing her. Maybe their frank talk. Maybe the kiss.
But he wasn’t going to waste his second chance on his own inexperience.
And besides, Opal had said he should find friends, right?
He crept from the bed and sought out clothes, pulling on a shirt they’d probably removed during his fever. He still wore rumpled sweats, and that would have to do.
He peeked out the door, making sure the coast was clear. He knew he was supposed to still be in bed, but he’d promised Opal the real wooing was about to begin, and he’d need Ruby’s help for that.
He’d always derided the dragon known for his sexual prowess, but he hoped Ruby would be willing to overlook that for a chance to pontificate on his favorite subject.
He heard talking in the kitchen and listened in with his keen ability to sense thoughts.
Ruby was in his room alone. Jackpot.
Aegis crept down the stairs and along the darkened hallway. The light was off. He opened the door and snuck smoothly in, glad to see Ruby, or Red as he liked to be called, was alone in bed.
No mates around.
Red stirred, his dark-red hair falling to the side as he pushed himself up groggily and looked at Aegis in confusion. His dark-green eyes narrowed. “Aegis? What are you doing here?”
Aegis quietly locked the door behind him and stepped forward, trying to look casual with his hands in his pockets. “I had some questions.” He looked around them at the darkened room, the shut blinds. “What are you doing in bed at this hour?” He walked to the window to open the blinds, but Red stopped him with a hiss.
“It’s Faye,” he said with a wry smile. “With her pregnancy, she has been totally exhausting me.”
“With her increased needs for food and protection?” Aegis asked, confused.
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